This invention relates to steadyrests for turning apparatus and more particularly to steadyrests for slant bed lathes.
Metal cutting lathes generally include a bed, a head stock or chuck, a tail stock, and a tool holder or toll holding turret. A workpiece is typically mounted between the chuck and tail stock and tools engage the turning workpiece to produce desired cuts.
Where a turning operation calls for holding small tolerances, it is desirable to support the workpiece between the chuck and tail stock to reduce workpiece movement perpendicular to the axis of rotation. A steadyrest is normally used to provide this support. Such a steadyrest is illustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,631.
In heavy duty turning equipment adapted for handling large workpieces, or heavy cuts, it is desirable to provide a turning apparatus which permits easy access to the workpiece for handling it, and to the cutting area, for manipulating the tools. In order to provide such access, slant bed lathes are used. Such lathes have beds inclined from one side to the other about 60.degree. from horizontal. This effectively moves the bed behind or to the far side of the workpiece, with respect to an operator, and the operator can step up to the apparatus in very close proximity to the workpiece and the tool holder.
Nevertheless, while slant bed lathes produce good access to the workpiece, the use of current steadyrests operates in a counter-productive way, obstructing the workpiece and preventing clear access to it. This difficulty is inherent in current known steadyrests, which surround the workpiece to provide support at three points, for example. While such current steadyrests may eventually be removed from the workpiece, such removal can be a tedious, time consuming process. The support rollers of the steadyrest must be withdrawn from the workpiece and all adjustment mechanisms backed off to permit the steadyrest components to clear the workpiece. Finely adjustable mechanisms require a substantial amount of time for backing off.
The difficulties of removing the steadyrest from the workpiece thus reduce the benefits of easy workpiece access provided by the slant bed lathe.
Accordingly, it has been one objective of this invention to provide an improved steadyrest for a turning apparatus.
A further objective of this invention has been to provide an adjustable steadyrest which can be quickly released from a workpiece.
A further objective of the invention has been to provide a finely adjustable, self-opening steadyrest which can be quickly released from a workpiece without backing off the entire fine adjustment, and within any portion of the range of the fine adjustment.
A further objective has been to provide an improved steadyrest for a slant bed lathe.
To these ends, a preferred embodiment of the invention includes a steadyrest having a frame, and workpiece support rollers mounted on the frame by means of swing arms pivoted to the frame. The rollers are mounted at one end of their respective swing arms, and adjustment screws are operatively connected to the other ends. At least the near side roller/swing arm has an adjustment screw with an abutment end removably disposed in a stop means or socket on the frame. It is only necessary to rotate the screw several times to release pressure on the socket, whereupon the screw end can be lifted from the socket, and the screw pivoted out of the way. This frees the entire swing arm to be pivoted away from the workpiece without further rotation of the screw.
Clear access to the workpiece is thus easily gained by only a few revolutions of the adjustment screw, and it does not have to be fully backed off in order to release the steadyrest from the workpiece.
Also, the near side support is constructed so that it is self-opening after the screw is released, the weight of the free screw tending to open the swing arm away from the workpiece.
In the preferred embodiment, a far side support roller, is swing arm mounted, but this support apparatus is not required to be releasable in the same manner as the near side support. A lower support roller also need not be releasably mounted, but is preferably mounted for reciprocal movement toward and away from the workpiece for adjustment to various workpiece sizes. The lower support apparatus includes a bracket attached to the steadyrest frame and on which is located the stop means or socket for the near side support.
Accordingly, the preferred embodiment of the invention provides an improved steadyrest, usable with a slant bed lathe, and facilitating clear and quick access to workpiece without tedious backing off of adjustments and the like. The steadyrest is self-opening and enhances operator access to the workpiece in a slant bed lathe.
These and other objectives and advantages will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, and from the drawings in which: